1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive vehicle consoles, and more particularly to consoles having cup holders, storage compartments and other convenience features.
2. History of the Prior Art
It is well known to provide automotive vehicles with a console. Consoles are typically located at the front of the vehicle and divide the front seating area between the driver's side and the passenger's side. Such consoles are usually provided with one or more storage compartments therein for storage of miscellaneous items such as tapes, compact discs, a cellular telephone, and the like. A hinged lid may control access to the compartment, or the compartment may be open.
Many automotive vehicle consoles are provided with a cup holder designed to securely hold one or more cups so that they do not have to be continuously held by the driver or passenger. Cup holders may be of the permanently exposed type, or they may be the disappearing type which is opened for use by the operator when desired. The disappearing type is preferred because they enhance the appearance of the console when not in use. Disappearing type cup holders have various mechanisms for allowing them to move between closed and open positions. Often they are provided with a door which is generally continuous with the outer surface of the console housing when the cup holder is in the closed position. An operator selectively opens the door so that the cup holder mechanism is moved into the open position in preparation for use.
Conventional cup holders employ a variety of different motion mechanisms, including those which undergo sliding motion and those which pivot or rotate. Unfortunately, most such cup holders must rely upon a complicated motion mechanism for opening the cup receiving receptacles as the cup holder moves into the open position. This adds considerably to the expense of the cup holder mechanism, and further comprises a source of trouble as the automotive vehicle begins to age.
Most automotive vehicle consoles have one or more storage compartments therein, as previously noted. Typically, there is one large storage compartment at the center of the console, access to which is controlled by a hinged lid at the top thereof. The hinged lid may be padded so as to serve as an armrest, or it may be configured to hold objects placed thereon. While such storage compartments tend to be large enough to hold a variety of different objects, their inability to provide much organization often makes it difficult for the driver or passenger to find a particular object stored therein. A mixture of objects such as tapes, compact discs, pencils and other such objects makes it difficult to retrieve a particular object when desired.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an automotive vehicle console having a disappearing cup holder of relatively simple configuration which eliminates the need for complicated mechanisms to open the cup-receiving receptacles as the cup holder is moved into the open position. Preferably, the cup holder should include rigid, continuously fully opened cup receptacles. It would also be desirable to provide cup receptacles configured to receive and support a variety of cups of different sizes, and particularly to have the facility to accommodate the handle of certain cups such as coffee cups. Often, with cups that have handles, the handle gets in the way, making it difficult to place the cup securely within the cup holder. It would also be desirable to provide an automotive vehicle console in which the storage compartment thereof is arranged so as to be capable of storing a variety of different objects in organized fashion. Such arrangement would desirably conserve on space by providing for object storage at different levels within the console, while at the same time making access to the different levels of storage relatively easy.